Jaguars vs. Colts: Jacksonville win 27-20 in Week 1 thanks to... well... everyone

The Jacksonville Jaguars just ran me and all my dumb opinions over with a garbage truck after winning 27-20 the Indianapolis Colts.

James Robinson is not an upgrade over Leonard Fournette. (Wrong.)

Gardner Minshew can’t step up into the pocket and throw. (Wrong.)

This secondary is going to get torn apart by Philip Rivers. (Wrong.)

I didn’t think this one would be close, honestly. I thought we’d lose by double digits and that I’d be writing one of those “Jaguars lose again” articles by halftime.

And it looked like I was after the Colts shredded the defense for an extremely easy 63-yard touchdown drive. The run defense had holes, we couldn’t defend a running back screen to save our lives, and the pass rush just wasn’t getting there.

But then James Robinson turned in the most impressive Week 1 performance by an undrafted running back in NFL history and Gardner Minshew managed to finish the game with just one incompletion — a drop by Laviska Shenault. Can we talk about Minshew for a second though? He finished 19-for-20 for 173 yards and three touchdowns, all to different receivers. It was an impressive showing by him, but an equally as impressive debut for new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden who wasn’t beholden to the same old “run twice and then pass on third down” garbage we’re used to seeing out of our offenses.

And the defense... my God the defense. K’Lavon Chaisson had a few good pass rushes and would have had an interception if not for a D.J. Hayden penalty away from the ball. DaVon Hamilton had a few good stops. Josh Allen was a warrior. Andrew Wingard with a backbreaking interception late in the game. And C.J. Henderson was the player of the game on his side of the ball — five tackles, an interception, and three passes defended, including the one to end the game.

This team isn’t perfect. There will be growing pains with any young team, especially on defense. But 27 points and not a single turnover on offense paired with a bend-but-don’t-break defense that only gave up two touchdowns to a decent Indianapolis offense?

Feels good, y’all.